, 27 August 1968,
Mexico City s with signs demonstrating in
Helsinki, Finland, after
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 Thomas Ratliff and Lori Hall have devised a typology of six broad activity categories of the protest activities described in the Dynamics of Collective Action project. •
Literal, symbolic, aesthetic and sensory – Artistic, dramaturgical, and symbolic displays (street theater, dancing, etc.) including use of images, objects, graphic art, musical performances, or vocal/auditory exhibitions (speech-making, chanting, etc.). May also include tactile exchanges of information (petitions, leaflets, etc.) and the destruction of objects of symbolic or political value. Highly visible and most diverse category of activity; impacts on society (police response, media focus, impact on potential allies, etc.) often are underestimated. •
Solemnity and the sacred – Vigils, prayer, or rallies, in the form of religious service,
candlelight vigils, cross or coffin bearing etc. All directly related to the
Durkheimian "
sacred", or some form of religious or spiritual practice, belief, or ideology. Events where sacred activity is the primary focus are rarely responded to by police with force or presence. Solemnity usually provides a distinct quietness or stillness, changing the energy, description, and interpretation of such events. •
Institutional and conventional – Institutionalized activity or activity highly dependent on formal political processes and social institutions (press conferences, lawsuits, lobbying, etc.). Often conflated with non-confrontational and nonviolent activities in research as the
other or reference category. More
acceptable because it operates, to some degree, within the system. Historically contentious issue in regard to the practice of protest due to this integration within the system. •
Movement in space – Marches or parades (processional activities) from one spatio-temporal location to another, with beginning or ending places sometimes chosen for symbolic reasons. Picket lines often used in labor strikes but can be used by non-labor actors but the key differences between picket and processionals are the distance of movement. Events that take the form of a procession are logistically much more difficult to police (even if it is for the safety of protesters). Marches are some of the largest events in this period. •
Civil disobedience – Withholding obligations,
sit-ins, blockades,
shop-ins, occupations, bannering, "camping", etc., are all specific activities which constitute the tactical form of civil disobedience. In some way, these activities directly or technically break the law. Usually given most attention by researchers, media, and authorities. Often conflated with violence and threats because of direct action and confrontational nature, but should serve as a distinct category of action (both in the context of tactical and strategic planning and in the control of activity). •
Collective violence and threats – Collective violence such as pushing, shoving, hitting, punching, damaging property, throwing objects, verbal threats, etc., is usually committed by a relative few out of many protesters (even tens of thousands). It is rare in occurrence and rarely condoned by the public or onlookers (particularly the media). Usually met with equivalent or overwhelming force in response by authorities. Some forms of
direct action listed in this article are also
public demonstrations or rallies: •
Protest march, a historically and geographically common form of
nonviolent action by groups of people. •
Picketing, a form of protest in which people congregate outside a place of work or location where an event is taking place. Often, this is done in an attempt to dissuade others from going in ("crossing the picket line"), but it can also be done to draw public attention to a cause. •
Street protesters demonstrate in areas with high visibility, often employing handmade
placards such as
sandwich boards or picket signs in order to maximize exposure and interaction with the public. •
Lockdowns and
lock-ons are a way to stop movement of an object like a structure or tree, and to thwart the removal of actual protesters from the location. Users employ various chains, locks and even the
sleeping dragon for impairment of those trying to remove them with a matrix of composted materials. •
Die-ins are a form of protest where participants simulate being dead (with varying degrees of realism). In the simplest form of a die-in, protesters simply lie down on the ground and pretend to be dead, sometimes covering themselves with signs or banners. Much of the effectiveness depends on the posture of the protesters, for when not properly executed, the protest might look more like a "sleep-in". For added realism, simulated wounds are sometimes painted on the bodies, or bandages, usually made to appear bloody, are used. •
Protest song is a song which protests perceived problems in society. Every major movement in Western history has been accompanied by its own collection of protest songs, from slave
emancipation to women's
suffrage, the
labor movement,
civil rights, the anti-war movement, the
feminist movement, the environmental movement. Over time, the songs have come to protest more abstract, moral issues, such as
injustice,
racial discrimination, the morality of war in general (as opposed to purely protesting individual wars),
globalization, inflation,
social inequalities, and
incarceration. •
Radical cheerleading. The idea is to ironically re-appropriate the aesthetics of
cheerleading, for example by changing the
chants to promote feminism and left-wing causes. Many radical cheerleaders (some of whom are male,
transgender or non-gender identified) are in appearance far from the stereotypical image of a cheerleader. •
Critical Mass bike rides have been perceived as protest activities. A 2006
New Yorker article described Critical Mass' activity in New York City as "monthly political-protest rides", and characterized Critical Mass as a part of a
social movement; the U.K.
e-zine Urban75, which advertises as well as publishes photographs of the Critical Mass event in London, describes this as "the monthly protest by cyclists reclaiming the streets of London". However, Critical Mass participants have insisted that these events should be viewed as "celebrations" and spontaneous gatherings, not as protests or organized demonstrations. This stance allows Critical Mass to argue a legal position that its events can occur without advance notification of local police. •
Toyi-toyi is a Southern African dance originally from Zimbabwe that became famous for its use in political protests in the apartheid-era South Africa. See
Protest in South Africa.
Written demonstration Written evidence of political or economic power, or democratic justification may also be a way of protesting. •
Petitions •
Letters (to show political power by the volume of letters): Used by some letter writing campaigns, especially those with a
form letter that supporters are given to sign
Civil disobedience demonstrations a news reporter during a protest in New York City Any protest could be
civil disobedience if a "ruling authority" says so, but the following are
usually civil disobedience demonstrations: •
Public nudity or
topfree (to protest indecency laws or as a
publicity stunt for another protest such as a war protest) or
animal mistreatment (e.g.
PETA's campaign against fur). See also
Nudity and protest. •
Sit-in •
Photobombing – disrupting an event being broadcast live •
Raasta roko – people blocking auto traffic with their bodies •
Silent protest •
Lebenslaute As a residence •
Peace camp • Formation of a
tent city •
Camp for Climate Action Destructive members spray graffiti during an
Iraq War Protest in
Washington, D.C. •
Hatchetation •
Vandalism – Smashing windows or spraying
graffiti is used as a form of riot, and is sometimes employed by
black bloc groups. •
Riot – Protests or attempts to end protests sometimes lead to rioting. •
Looting – stealing goods from establishments or businesses (takes place during riots) •
Self-immolation •
Suicide •
Hunger strike •
Bombing Non-destructive •
Silent protest – protests or parades in which participants are nonviolent and usually silent in an attempt to avoid violent confrontation with military or police forces. This tactic was effectively used during the
Arab Spring in cities such as
Tehran and
Cairo.
Direct action •
Civil resistance Information • Informative
letters, letter writing campaigns, letters to the editor •
Teach-in •
Zine •
Soap-boxing
Civil disobedience to censorship •
Samizdat (distributing censored materials) • Protest graffiti
By Internet and social networking protesters in
Zuccotti Park using the Internet to get their message out over social networking as events happen, September 2011Blogging and social networking have become effective tools to register protest and grievances. Protests can express views or news, and use viral networking to reach out to thousands of people. With protests on the rise from the
U.S. election season of 2016 going into 2017, protesters became aware that using their
social media during a protest could make them an easier target for
government surveillance.
Literature, art and culture •
Culture jamming Against religious or ideological institutions •
Recusancy •
Book burning == Protest policing ==